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Thursday 16 February 2012

Happy Birthday, 2000AD! From art droid Kev F Sutherland

Name: Kev F Sutherland

Blog or web site:  comicfestival.co.uk

Currently working on:


Self-published comics Captain Clevedon and Hot Rod Cow, with the book of my classic Tales Of Nambygate and Phallas strips from Gas and Brain Damage comics now all available.

You can still get some of my best Beano strips from Amazon in the Beano annuals 2007, 8 & 9.

First memory of 2000AD?

I bought Prog 2 then read it on my paper round. As a result it bears the ink smudges of a few dozen Leicester Mercurys as it slid in and out of my bag, so is probably worth less than some copies. I was addicted to the weekly Marvel reprints at the time so took a while to start getting 2000AD regularly, only becoming a subscriber when it merged with StarLord.

Favourite Character or Story?

For a long time it was Dredd, and I'm the reader who still thinks Gerry Finley-Day's Rogue Trooper remains the best version of the character, but once Alan Moore's strips started, nothing else compared. DR & Quinch, Halo Jones and Skizz are pretty unbeatable.

What do you like most about the 2000AD

In its heyday it quite simply led the world in the quality and originally of its creators and creations. I was privileged to be the right age to live through 2000AD's golden age as a schoolkid and student.

At the age of 18, in 1980, I got to visit the 2000AD offices in Kings Reach Tower when Alan Grant and Steve McManus were in charge there. To that date it was probably the most exciting day of my life.

What would you most like to see in 2000AD as it heads to its Forties?

Sadly I have lost touch with 2000AD, drifting from it in the early 2000s, but I hear good things. I look forward to hearing more.

If you worked on 2000AD, do you have an anecdote you'd like to share about your experience of Tharg and his minions?

• My first cheque from 2000AD, for either a Captain Klep script or an illustration in an annual (circa 1980) was made out to the Rev F Sutherland.
• I wrote a Ro-Jaws Robo Tale in the 1981 Sci Fi Special whose credit-box fell off en route to the printers, so no-one ever knew I wrote it. It was the robot with the knife out the bottom story drawn by (equally uncredited) Steve Kyte.
In recompense, a recent Titan reprint volume of ABC Warriors and Ro-Busters credits me as the author of a story from an early annual which I had nothing to do with!

• This post is one in a series of tributes to 2000AD to mark its 35th birthday on 26th February 2012. More about 2000AD at www.2000adonline.com

2000AD © Rebellion

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